Wednesday, 21 March 2012

Ottoman Fight Club An Exhibition by Jamie Mcleod

Dalston
Superstore and Jamie McLeod presents

OTTOMAN
FIGHT CLUB

Private
View 12th
January 2012

Exhibition
runs 13th
– 26th
January 2012

Following
his hugely successful show, Jack Off Johnny, the photo-artist Jamie
Mcleod returns to the Dalston Superstore, a new exhibitions of his
black and white portraits of Turkish Wrestlers, “Ottoman Fight
Club”.

Screen-printed
in a panoramic style on a 10-metre ream of canvas, giving the
appearance of a Pasolini movie. Along side this canvas are other
powerful photographic images that could standalone.

“ Bodies
and faces become bruised and bloodied and smashed and the smell of
oil, sweat and leather mixed with mud, blood and adrenalin is not
something I will forget quickly. It’s a heady mix of emotions going
on, you will have some boys crying in pain from an injury or
despondent at losing and others in ecstasy and raptures of joy at
winning or just having a laugh with their mates. I have never been
anywhere with this much extreme drama coupled with brute force and
tenderness. It is one photo opportunity after another and I got to
take my photos backstage in the passageway before and after the
wrestlers go into the arena so I got an angle that the other didn’t.
I was interested in portraits and capturing the character and not
documenting the actual sport” comments Mcleod.

These
images are not mere homoerotic fantasy pictures in the vein of Bruce
Weber but an in-depth study of Turkish ethnicity and male sexuality
through the body. “I’m interested in the sensuality of the male
physique and the mystery of the face, and the hidden surprise behind
the eyes” Mcleod says. “I’m also fascinated by civilization and
heritage. In Turkey you will find the classic Arabic-type face,
Ottoman, Asiatic, Kurdish, Gypsy, Greek, Roman, Jewish and
Georgian-type faces – all of which encompass the country’s rich
and diverse cultural and heritage. Turkey is the stepping-stone
between Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East so there is a strong
mix of all these people.

It
is not possible to discern what era these photographs were taken, as
there is no reference to the modern day world, the photographs look
and feel as if they could have been taken anytime over the last 100
years. Mcleod is also enchanted by how brutal and beautiful they are
–with their cast of non-classical semi-nudes captured like the
warriors and heroes that Mcleod believes them to be.

Anybody
familiar with the photographer Wilhelm von Gloeden’s 1930s photos
of Sicilian youth will find a direct link to the savage male beauty
that is Mcleod’s subject.

Mcleod’s
images were taken over an eight-year period at the annual Kirkpinar
tournament, held in Edirne, Turkey. This is in what was the ancient
area of Thrace where Ottoman soldiers prepared for warfare and
instilling fear into the hearts of neighboring Greece and Bulgaria
even before the era of Alexander the Great.

In
Ottoman times, the sport was taught in athletic schools for warfare
but also in spiritual centers. This is what differentiates it from
just a sport, as there is a deeply romantic mythological and
ceremonial side to the sport. It is also the oldest continuously
running sporting competition in the world held in Edirne since 1362.

It
not clear where the tournament originates – some saying from Greece
with the Turks but more likely it is predated and from Persia from
1065 BC. The oil was added to make it more difficult for the opponent
to grip but also mixed with a herb which also prevents mosquito
bites. Wrestlers oil one another prior to matches as a demonstration
of balance and mutual respect. If a man defeats an older opponent, he
kisses the latter’s hand, a sign of respect for elders in Turkey.

The
way Turkish men and boys interact with each other, massaging and
caressing and laying together resting after the games and before
fights. Male tenderness between each other is common in the Middle
East and, quite often, it is only an expression of brotherly love –
but it is something men in the west are scared to express without
being labelled homosexual, Mcleod believes.

“When
westerners see my photos they normally ask me if this is a gay
festival and I laugh and say, sadly, no. It’s amazing to think just
because men can express open affection towards each other through the
way we would normally express it in heterosexuality, we conclude they
are homosexual of which most of them are not. However the issue of
sexuality in Turkey and the Middle East remains complicated.